Harry Styles Supporting Perrie Edwards After Zayn Malik Split? 1D Singer, Malik’s Ex ‘Like Family’

Perrie Edwards has been getting close to One Direction since Zayn Malik called off their two-year engagement earlier this year, but it appears the Little Mix singer and Harry Styles are “like family” despite the 1D singer’s friendship with Malik.

Just days after sources close to Perrie confirmed that the singer is doing just fine since splitting from Zayn Malik, new sources close to Edwards are revealing that Edwards and Styles are becoming close friends despite their awkward history with Malik.

An insider close to Edwards explains to Hollywood Life, “[Perrie’s] in a place of appreciation for all the support she continues to get,” noting that Perrie is thankful for the outpouring of support from both One Direction and their fans.

“She’s especially grateful for the guys from One Direction. They have all been so sweet to her individually and as a group.”

The source further explains that Styles constantly “checks in” with Edwards to make sure that she’s still holding up after her headline-making split from Malik, noting that Edwards and Styles are “like brothers, like family.”

The news comes just days after Edwards and her fellow Little Mix bandmates opened for One Direction at the Apple Music Festival in London.

Edwards and bandmate Jade Thirlwall were spotted “partying” alongside One Direction band members Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan after the event, further fueling speculation that Little Mix and One Direction may be becoming close friends.

Similarly, Edwards and Thirlwall recently confirmed to The Sun via Unreality TV that there may even be a One Direction and Little Mix collaboration planned for the future despite One Direction’s impending hiatus in 2016.

Thirlwall explained to the site, “We definitely want to collaborate with One Direction. We saw Liam [Payne] at the iTunes gig and he said he wanted to write with us for the next album, so that would be good.”

In addition, Styles and Payne recently gushed over Little Mix’s new single, “Love Me Like You.” Harry Styles admitted to being “a big fan” of the song.

Similarly, Payne described the chart-topping track as, “a nice laid back sort of song.” Tomlinson also commented on the song, saying he’s “liking the newer kind of sound.”

The news comes just days after Malik was spotted cozying up to what fans are calling a “Perrie Edwards look-alike” on Instagram, People reported.

In the black-and-white photo, Malik can be seen cuddling with a mystery blonde by wrapping one arm around her and puckering his lips just inches from her face.

While neither Malik nor the female in question have confirmed the identity of the female, commenters on Instagram believe that the blonde may be Gage Golightly, an actress known for her role as Erica Reyes on MTV’s Teen Wolf.

Despite the rumors, Golightly slammed the rumors in a personal Instagram message on Sunday, writing, “I am not the girl in the photo with Zayn Malik. But what a lucky girl!”

What do you think of the rumors suggesting that Harry Styles and Perrie Edwards are becoming close friends?

[Photos by Ian Gavan, Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]